5 Actionable Ways to Protect Your Outdoor Sanctuary

Whether you’re a runner, hiker, biker, climber, kayaker, or you partake in any outdoor sport, you know how important your own personal outdoor sanctuaries are. Outdoor sports feel calming and exciting at the same time. You can get your alone time with your sport or share the fun with others. You might be competing or just having fun. Either way, the trails, lakes, or mountains you utilize feel like your own personal pieces of heaven.

Unfortunately, our environment isn’t something that will last forever unless we work to protect it. If you’re looking for actionable advice to protect your outdoor sanctuary, there are plenty of direct or indirect ways to do that. From recycling to using less energy to making sure you’re drawing attention to your favorite outdoor locations, you can help to protect your favorite outdoor areas.

Keep It Clean

There are a lot of rules about keeping an outdoor area clean. We know the rule that you should always pack out what you pack in, but you should also always work to leave a place better than you found it. If you see trash, pick it up. Be a good example to others who may see you taking pride in your sanctuary. Keep a bag on you at all times that you can use to pick up trash out if you see it. In an indirect way, you can also work to keep the environment clean as a whole by being conscious of recycling what you can so that your trash doesn’t end up in someone else’s sanctuary one day.

Make Sustainable Upgrades to Your Home

As another indirect way to keep the environment as a whole protected, be sure to use as little energy as you can by making sustainable upgrades to your home. You can go big by installing solar panels or go small by using less water in the yard. Using less energy really does make a difference, so each small change you make is helping the environment as a whole. Not only that, but it’s important to know how making sustainable upgrades can directly help you as well. Using less energy means a lower electricity, water, or gas bill on your end.

Photo courtesy of GREENbike.

Commuting Alternatives

In the same realm of using fewer resources and less energy, finding alternative ways to commute to work is also a great way to help the environment and your personal outdoor sanctuary tied to it. As an outdoor enthusiast, it’s not a difficult leap to focus on walking or biking to work. However, that’s not always feasible depending on the weather, your resources, or how far you live from work. Some other options include using public transportation, carpooling, or even working remotely. Though some jobs work better for remote work than others, if it’s something you’re able to do, it’s a great way to help the environment as a lover of the outdoors.

Donate to Your Favorite Sanctuary

Whether you ski at a local resort, hike on public lands, or enjoy climbing at a national park, you might consider what you can do to help keep those locations available. Making a donation to your own personal sanctuary is a great way to protect your favorite outdoor location. Keeping those areas clean, safe, and open takes resources, and often, the funding isn’t as available as area officials would like. For that reason, making a donation, buying a parks pass, or purchasing merchandise can help keep your sanctuary running.

Get your kids outside, go camping!

Keep Going

If you want a way to protect the wilderness that you love, be sure to keep going. Bring your children, invite your friends, and help others love the outdoors as much as you do. People who love being outside are the ones who spend time, money, and resources protecting it. So continuing to snowshoe, raft, or backpack in your outdoor sanctuary. Not only is it good for you and your own happiness, but it’s also good for the environment to have people who love experiencing it.

Being outside means being away from stresses and close to nature. The air, the sounds, and the adventure are all a part of the experience. These sanctuaries are sacred and should be treated as such. In reality, not everyone looks at these outdoor miracles in this way. If you’ve found a place where you can run, hike, bike, or play whatever your chosen sport is, and that brings you peace and joy, know there are ways to protect it. Whether you’re donating, using a commuting alternative, or cleaning up your sanctuary while you’re there, you’re helping to protect it for yourself and for others.

About Author

Chelsy is a writer from Montana who is now living in Boise, Idaho. She graduated with her journalism degree from the University of Montana in 2012. When she isn’t writing she spends her time riding her bike, throwing a Frisbee for her dog, and exploring the outdoors in Boise.

About

Outdoor Sports Guide

The mission of Outdoor Sports Guide Magazine is to inspire and educate endurance athletes and outdoor enthusiasts in the Mountain West through well-written content on adventure, travel, gear, health, fitness, nutrition, industry news, profiles, and ski resort information. We publish the state's largest race and outdoor event calendar, and you can find it here on our site or every spring in our Keeper edition. Pick up a copy of our free bi-monthly print magazine wherever active people gather: ski resorts, sporting good stores, health clubs, gyms, races, coffee shops, and restaurants.